Dwayne Johnson Steps Out of Comfort Zone to Portray Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine

For much of his Hollywood career, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has built his reputation as an action star—one who could deliver laughs but rarely veered far from larger-than-life blockbusters. That changes this September when The Smashing Machine, Johnson’s long-awaited biopic of MMA legend Mark Kerr, premieres at the Venice Film Festival.

Johnson has been connected to the project for years, ever since he first watched the 2002 documentary chronicling Kerr’s battles with addiction and painkiller abuse. The story struck a chord with him, and Johnson envisioned himself playing Kerr, but the timing never aligned—until after the pandemic, when he partnered with acclaimed filmmaker Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems) to bring the project to life.

Despite his passion for the role, Johnson admits he questioned whether he could truly pull it off.

“It was very real,” Johnson told Vanity Fair. “I hadn’t felt that in a very long time—being scared, asking myself, ‘Can I do this?’ Maybe these opportunities never came my way because I was too afraid to explore them.”

To embody Kerr, Johnson not only trained extensively to capture the intensity of MMA’s early days but also underwent a daily transformation in the makeup chair. Each day on set began with three to four hours of prosthetics—13 or 14 in total—designed to subtly reshape him into Kerr.

“I’d just sit in front of the mirror and watch it all change,” Johnson said. “By the time I stepped on set, I was Mark Kerr. I felt it—from how he walked to how he talked, even how he saw the world.”

For Johnson, The Smashing Machine represents more than another starring role—it’s a personal leap into uncharted territory. For MMA fans, it promises a raw look at one of the sport’s most complex figures, brought to life by one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.